I spent five years at Forbes writing about business and leadership, attracting nearly one million unique visitors to Forbes.com each month. While here, I assistant edited the annual World’s 100 Most Powerful Women package and helped launch and grow ForbesWoman.com. I've appeared on CBS, CNBC, MSNBC and E Entertainment and speak often at conferences and events on women's leadership topics. I graduated summa cum laude from New York University with degrees in journalism and sociology and was honored with a best in business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) in 2012. My work has appeared in Businessweek, Ladies’ Home Journal, The Aesthete and Acura Style. I live in New York City with my husband and can be found on Twitter @Jenna_Goudreau, Facebook, and Google+.

How Jennifer Lopez Climbed To No. 1 On The Forbes Celebrity 100 List

Last year on the annual FORBES Celebrity 100 list, a ranking of the most powerful people in entertainment, Jennifer Lopez came in at No. 50. This year, she climbed to No. 1, besting media mogul Oprah Winfrey and pop singers Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Lady Gaga. How did the 42-year-old become the nation’s hottest and most sought after celebrity with an estimated income of $52 million in the last 12 months? Smart positioning and whole lot of hustle.

After a career slump defined by box-office flops (Gigli, Jersey Girl) and disappointing CD sales (Brave, Como Ama una Mujer), the Latina triple threat parlayed her position as a judge on American Idol into hit singles, an upcoming international music tour, a revitalized movie career, new product lines and a growing portfolio of endorsements. The newly single mother of 4-year-old twins may be the busiest woman in entertainment.

It all started with that little singing competition show on Fox. Reeling from lost strongholds like Simon Cowell and failed replacements like Ellen DeGeneres, the addition of Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler on the Idol judging table worked. Suddenly Lopez was in the living rooms of 25 million people each week. She quickly became known as the nurturing one, and successfully walked the line between “America’s sweetheart” and sizzling sex symbol, nightly stuffed into a glittering array of skin-tight outfits. Everyone was talking about her.

In the last year, Lopez racked up over 23,000 press mentions, graced 46 major magazine covers, topped People’s 2011 Most Beautiful list and became a Glamour Woman of the Year. She didn’t waste the exposure for a second. In May 2011, she released her first album in four years, Love?, with Island/Def Jam Records. She also used the Idol platform to premiere music videos and perform singles. Last year’s “On The Floor” went multi-platinum, according to RIAA, and the music video amassed over 530 million YouTube views.

When Lopez agreed to a second season of Idol, she had leverage, reportedly reupping to a massive $20 million contract, from $12 million the year before. She also became the new face of L’Oreal and signed deals with Gillette, Fiat and TOUS jewelry. In September, she launched a clothing collection for Kohl’s, which the company calls in filings “the largest in our company history both in breadth of content and sales dollars.”

“The exposure from American Idol is huge,” says Jon Albert, CEO of The Albert Company, a leading celebrity talent broker to advertisers. “It can make a career for the contestants and the judges. Advertisers see her on Idol and all the positive publicity–it would make sense that they would go after her. She’s beautiful, talented, multicultural, a movie actress and an entrepreneur. A lot of people like her. That makes her an excellent spokesperson, particularly to female consumers.”

She’s racing to keep up. This month, audiences can watch her in new movie What to Expect When You’re Expecting or pick up her new fragrance, Glowing, which is the 18th scent in a successful decade-old fragrance line with partner Coty Inc. and $2 billion in total sales. Readers of women’s magazines will also begin seeing a major new ad campaign for the perfume that features a nude and glistening Lopez.

“Our launch of Glow 10 years ago was a defining moment for both our company and the industry, reinventing the celebrity fragrance category,” says Bernd Beetz, chief executive of Coty. “Jennifer’s success is a testament to her unmatched work ethic and truly global appeal.”

In June, she will kick off her first international music tour, starting in Panama City. Her fans (12 million on Facebook and 6 million on Twitter) will get even more access to her on the just-launched website JenniferLopez.com, where she writes promotional blog posts and streams video announcements and extras.

She’s come a long way from her modest beginnings as Jenny from the Block, the girl who spent 12 years in all-girls Catholic school in the Bronx, NY, dropped out of Baruch College and got her break dancing as a Fly Girl on In Living Color at age 22. The first career climb, rocketed by her starring role in Selena in 1997 and debut album On the 6 in 1999, fizzled out amid troubled relationships, bad movie choices and mediocre music. The second coming is even bigger, taking her all the way to the top. Where could she go from here?

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